A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system connected to a computer network for redirecting network traffic. More specifically, the present invention is a method and system for monitoring web-based traffic and redirecting, either temporarily or permanently, that traffic based on predetermined criteria.
B. Description of the Prior Art
A client/subscriber on a LAN or WAN, a node on the network, obtains information from other nodes on the LAN or a WAN by connecting to those other nodes. Once connected, the client/subscriber can view information residing on that node. Currently, a device can be connected to the network that monitors the content of the requests for information initiated from each node. For example, a network device can be placed between a set of nodes on a LAN and a WAN connection, so that the requests from the various nodes on the LAN to connect to the WAN can be monitored for content. One use of such a device (sometimes called a web cache server) is to perform web page caching, which is popular with a variety of large internet service providers.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of such a web cache server 20 configured in a network with a traffic monitor 10. The traffic from various subscribers connected to a WAN (e.g., via a dialup 40, DSL 42 or Cable Modem 44 connection) is aggregated at a central point 50 (e.g., a hub), where a dedicated server 10 monitors the traffic as it on to the WAN 30. The monitor 10 ignores non-web traffic, and passes it through the router 60 on to the WAN 30. When the monitor 10 detects a request for a cached web page, the request is sent to the web page cache server 20, which xe2x80x9cpretendsxe2x80x9d to be the final destination. It returns the appropriate web page to the client/subscriber through the local network.
The primary benefit of web page caching is reduced congestion on the WAN 30. By maintaining local content on the web page cache server 20, the overall performance for all users is improved. The Internet service provider @ Home uses web page caching extensively, to improve the quality of service it provides. to its end users without requiring large investments in Internet bandwidth.
However, network managers, Internet service providers, and content providers currently have no way of temporarily redirecting requests for access to a particular web page to a different (replacement) web page. Such a capability would enable the effective delivery of valuable information to the users using the full flexibility of the web page medium. For example, the network manager, internet service provider, or content provider could insert an advertisement or other valuable information to Internet users without being restricted to a relatively small portion of the web page that is requested by the user. This capability is particularly important to advertisers on the web because it would enable them to use all the flexibility of the medium and thus deliver a more attractive, interesting, and thus more effective advertisement.
Revenue generated by advertising on the Internet is growing explosively. According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, advertising spending during the first quarter of 1998 totaled $351.3 million, a 271% increase over the first quarter of 1997. Currently, advertisers are limited to a relatively small portion of a web page containing information of interest to the advertiser""s target market. The advertiser""s portion of the page typically consists of a bare, blue-text hyperlink to the advertiser""s website or a relatively small banner (consisting of a still image or a relatively short, sequential series of still images) overlaying a hyperlink. Viewers of the web pages can easily overlook or disregard these simplistic advertisements. The advertisements also are inherently boring because they cannot use the flexibility of the web medium; no movies and no sound. Moreover, the advertisement is relatively difficult to change because the banner or link is embedded within a third party""s web page, the content of which may not be controlled by the advertiser.
The method according to the invention for redirecting web page requests on a TCP/IP network may be performed by a web traffic monitor that intercepts at least a portion of web-based traffic from a client/subscriber on a network. Based on a predetermined criterion, the web traffic monitor either responds to the client/subscriber with an action other than that which was intended by the user or relays the traffic to the destination originally intended by the user. The predetermined criterion may be chosen from, among others, a time period that has elapsed since the last web page request issued from the client/subscriber, a particular IP destination address requested by the client/subscriber, or the client/subscriber""s IP address. Once the predetermined criterion is met, the traffic monitor acts appropriately by, for example, substituting a replacement web page for the web page requested by the client/subscriber, sending a series of replacement pages, failing to provide any page (e.g., as a security device), sending the replacement page after a predetermined delay period, or sending the intended web page. Appropriate methods of returning the replacement web page to the client/subscriber include, but are not limited to, returning the replacement web page: (1) without ever returning the intended web page; (2) without ever returning the intended web page while enforcing the replacement web page such that all actions taken by the client/subscriber using the browser cause the replacement web page to persist, (3) for only a predetermined period of time before delivering the intended web page; or (4) in a secondary browser window that pops on top of the intended web page, which is returned in a primary browser window.
A system for performing the method of the invention includes (1) a web traffic monitor capable of intercepting and appropriately routing or spoofing web-based traffic originating from and intended for the client/subscriber and (2) a web content shove server from which the web traffic monitor can retrieve replacement web pages for transmission to the client/subscriber. The web traffic monitor need not intercept all network traffic originating from or intended for the client/subscriber, but only at least some web traffic. The web traffic monitor can be a physical device interposed in the communication path between the client/subscriber and web page content server (e.g., on a WAN) or a software process running on an existing device on this communication path like a router or an ISP gateway. The web content shove server can be a physical device connected to the web traffic monitor or a software process running on the web traffic monitor or on another node accessible to the web traffic monitor.
The system according to the invention, as embodied and broadly described below, is a web traffic monitor interposed into a communication path between a client/subscriber and a web page content server which is operable to: intercept at least some web traffic originating from the client/subscriber and determine whether the intercepted web traffic includes a request originating from the client/subscriber for an intended web page and if the traffic includes the request for the intended web page, then determine, based on a predetermined criterion, whether it is appropriate to respond to the request for the intended web page by returning a replacement web page; and if the predetermined criterion is satisfied, then retrieve the replacement web page from a web content shove server linked to the web traffic monitor and return the replacement web page to the client/subscriber; or if the predetermined criterion is not satisfied, then transmit the request for the intended web page on the communication path to the web page content server; or if the traffic does not include the request for the intended web page, transmit the traffic to an appropriate location.
The preceding general description of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and do not restrict the claims directed to the invention. The accompanying drawings, which are part of this specification, illustrate one embodiment of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.